Extremely moist with flecks of vanilla bean and prevalent honey notes, these Mini Cream Cheese Honey Vanilla Pound Cakes are perfect for snacking and even holiday gift giving!
There are pound cakes and there are POUND CAKES. And I want to tell you something – Right here, right now.
This situation right here? This is a POUND CAKE. Let’s break down a pound cake.
Butter? Check!
Sugar? Check!
Eggs? Duh!
Flour? YES!
Flavoring? It’s not a pound cake without it.
So what makes THIS particular pound cake THE POUND CAKE? The one who stands out like a Vegas lights from the rest of ‘em?
Flow with me…
This pound cake not only boasts a serious amount of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour – This pound cake has cream cheese in it. YES! Cream cheese, yo. Making it the most tender, moist, pillowy soft pound cake you’ve ever tasted. And not only is this pound cake soft, moist, and pillowy – It’s flecked with vanilla bean paste and mixed with sweet, silky honey.
Not enough? I got you, boo. I glazed that mofo with confectioners’ sugar mixed with even more honey and vanilla bean paste.
Oh, and the recipe make 3 – Yes, 3 mini pound cakes. To share or to eat all by yourself. I don’t judge. This is a judge free space.
Now you want to taste it for yourself.
I can dig it.
Do that. Because this Honey Vanilla Pound Cake is worth every single ingredient.
[purerecipe]
Ingredients
For the pound cake
- 2 cups spooned then leveled All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 8-ounce package Cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup 1 1/2 sticks Unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar
- 4 Large eggs
- 2 ½ teaspoons Vanilla bean paste
- 4 tablespoons Honey
Honey Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup Confectioners' sugar
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla bean paste
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk
Instructions
For the cake:
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Butter three (3) 5×3 mini loaf pans or one 9×5-inch baking pan and dust with flour. Shake the excess flour and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese. Stop the mixer as needed and scrape down the bowl to make sure the butter and cream cheese are evenly incorporated. Add the granulated sugar to the butter and cream cheese mixture, and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stop the mixer and once again scrape down the sides of the bowl. Over medium/high speed, beat in eggs one at a time, making sure to incorporate after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla bean paste and honey. Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the dry ingredients all at once. Beat until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Spoon batter into the prepared pans and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with just a few tiny crumbs. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for about 5 minutes. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. As the cakes cool, prepare the glaze.
For the glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, honey, vanilla bean paste and milk. Whisk with a fork until combined. At this point you can adjust as needed, adding more confectioners' sugar for a thicker glaze or more honey. Drizzle or pour honey vanilla glaze over cooled cakes.
